Quill-like structure in the form of a rigid, waterproof, and if desired, transparenttube



F. K. WICKEL 1, 88, 8 E IN THE FORM OF A RIGID, WATERPROOF, DESIRED,TRANSPARENT TUBE Filed Aug. 20, 1928 Nov. 22, 1932.

QUILL LIKE s'rnucwua AND IF Fly.

42/ www Patented Nov. 22, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT} orrlcs FRIEDRICHKARL wtcxnn, or nnusmm, GERMANY QUILL-LIKE STRUCTURE IN THE roan or'amen), wa'nmrnoomann 1r nssmm),

TRANSPARENT TUBE Application filed August 20, 19a, swarm. 300,954, andin Germany August 22, 1927.

My invention relates to a quill-like structure in the form of a rigid,waterproof, and, if desired, transparent tube, which may be used fordrinking purposes, as well as for 5 a substitute for natural quills, forinstance, for cigar holders, fine brushes and the like.

For drinking purposes it has already been proposed tomanufacture tubesof absorbent paper saturated or impregnated with paraffin, resinemulsions and the like. Such tubes cannot fulfill their object inentirely successful manner as no perfect sealing of the seams orwindings is attainable. One reason is that the said impregnatingmaterials are applicable either in the melted or fused state only andpossess by themselves no great adhesiveness (such as parafli'n, wax orthe like) or if employed, for instance as resin emulsions they dissolveagain in water and thus unroll in use and become prematurely useless.The main reason is, however, that a paper to be impregnated must benaturally absorbent. The impregnating medium must thus be very thin inorder that it may be absorbed at all by the substance of the tube. Thematerial of the tube absorbs-the impregnating medium by capillary actionand too little of the mediumremains on the comparatively rough surfaceof the tube to suflice for an etficient sealing as required forpractical use. The impregnation itself calls for comparativelylarge-quantities of material for the purpose of making the paperwaterproof, so that such a process is, furthermore, expensive withoutgivin homo ogues are also soluble in hot water and weakly alcoholicbeverages, which is, of course undesirable for taste and other reasons.Suchv products do not possess any elasticity and are very sensitive andunable to withstand even a light lateral pressure.

According to my invention all these drawbacks are eliminated and by myimproved process it is possible to produce extremely 45 elastic, veryrigid, perfectly waterproof tubes capable of sustaining a high lateralpressure in a simple and less expensive manner than heretofore. YAccording to my invention non-absorbent 50 papers, preferablytransparent papers (for a useful result. The paraflin and its instancehighly calendered'sulphide cellulose papers and the like) are used insuch a manner', that they receive a. coating on both sides formed freelyon their'surfaces and remaining thereon of a material or substance pref-65 erably dissolved in a volatile solvent, which serves as a sealing,stiffening and adhesive medium. The coating substance must be odorlessand tasteless. Suitable substances of this kind are, for instance,certain resins dissolved in the manner of shellac in alcohol or thelike, or certain artificial .r'esins or hardening products ofcondensation.

As particularly suitable for the purpose has proved a condensationproduct of Cubami'de and formaldehyde. Such substances may be applied tothe surfaces of the smooth and non-absorbent papers in extremely thinlayers, and thusare very rational and economical. In comparison withimpregnating media about one tenth by weight is sufiiclent. Thepractical result of this procedure is excellent, for the reasonthatthese materials become effective in the pure state, although in anextremely thin film. The resistance against water and alcoholic or acidliqulds, the natural elasticity and rigidity, on theone hand'ofthe paperand on the other .hand of the adhesive, remain unchanged.- Both factorsadd their respective properties and since, furthermore, the entireavailable sur-' Y face of the raw material is used for adhesive purposesa product of extraordinary strength is obtained. If a naturallytransparent material is employed, the tube produced possesses' thetransparency v and the character of a quill, as'a substitutg for whichand other articles it is intended.-

The layers of resin, artificial resin and the like may be applied in anydesired manner. The strips or webs of paper may. for instance, beprovided with such coats on both sides and dried, and then during theformation-and sealingof the tube exposed to heat ortem poraryliquefaction or the temporary softening and stickiness obtained yacne-sided action of the solvent of the respective resln or artificialresin covering. 7 Another way of carrying out my improved process is toprepare only one side of the paper prior to the 100 mide andformaldehyde.

terial strips are cut, which are wound upon formation of the tube, tocut the web of paper into strips, and to apply the impregnating mediumto the still free side of the'paper while the paper is in the machinefor forming the tube, i. e. directly before the tube is constructed bycoiling the paper.

In principle I claim all substances which have the property of formingwaterproof, rigid and adhesive layers on papers which are naturallynon-absorbent or which have been made non-absorbent. By non-absorbentpaper I mean paper which will not absorb the resinous solutions appliedto it in making the tubes. Because of the extremely colloidal nature ofthese resinous solutions which I employ, many grades of paper which willabsorb melted paraflin will not absorb such resinous solutions and aretherefore suitable for making tubes in acordance with my invention. Itis, of course, necessary to use for the coating material a substancefree of taste or odor. As particularly useful for the purpose haveproved condensates of carbamide and formaldehyde, the processes ofmanufacture of which are immaterial for my invention. In their lowercondensation stages they form treacle-like liquids, which may be appliedin easily drying thin layers and which after the drying and heating forma vitreous mass insoluble in all solvents, free of taste and smell. Thisand all analogous modifications by means of analogous or homologoussubstances form a special feature covered by a special claim.

The construction or formation of the tubes or tubular structures may beeffected in any known or desired manner. One method of making the tubeis illustrated in the drawing.

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section through a strip of raw paper, inexaggerated thickness,

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section corresponding to Fig. 1, with a,coating applied to the paper, likewise in exaggerated thickness,

Fig. 3 shows two paper strips cut from the raw material shown in Fig. 2,in cross-section and in exaggerated thickness. The strips are shown inthe relative positions in which they are wound, the upper one having itscoating ontop and the lower one having it on the bottom,

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section of a portion of 'a tube made inaccordance with the invention, in greatly exaggerated thickness,

Fig. 5 is a transverse section of the tube shown in Fig. 4, likewise ingreatly exaggerated thickness, and

Fig. 6 shows a portion of a finished drinking tube in substantiallynatural thickness.

In the drawing, a is the raw paper, from which the tubes are made and bis a coated layer, preferably of a condensate of carba- From this rawmaone another in the relative positions shown in Fig. 3, with thecoating layer of one on top and the coating layer of the other on thebottom. A cementing layer 0 is inserted between the two layers of paperand the finished product is a tube, such as shown in Figs. 46. The innerand outer layers 1), together with the cementing layer 0, seal the paperlayers against penetration by liquids. The coatings b are relativelythin, as compared with the thickness of the paper a.

The new product may be produced in natural color or tinted in any shade,and decorated and inscribed as desired. It may be produced in largequantities and should be looked upon as a considerable technicalimprovement, as a perfect substitute for and improvement on straws,quills and the like natural products.

Various changes and modifications may be made without departing from thespirit of my invention and the appended claims and I desire thereforethat only such restrictions should be placed upon it as'are imposed bythe prior art.

I claim as my invention 1. As a new article of manufacture, a drinkingtube composed of a non-absorbent paper coated with an odorless andtasteless resin.-

2. As a new article of manufacture, a drinking tube composed of atransparent nonabsorbent paper coated with an odorless and tastelessresin.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a drinking tube composed of aplurality of layers of a non-absorbent paper coated and united by anadhesive, odorless, and tasteless resin.

4. As a new article of manufacture, a drinking tube composed of anon-absorbent paper coated with a hardened condensate of carbamide andformaldehyde.

5. As a new article of manufacture, a drinking tube composed of anon-absorbent paper coated with a hardened condensate of carbamide andformaldehyde or its analogues .or homologues.

6. As a new article of manufacture, a tubular, quill-like structurecomposed of a nonabsorbent paper coated with a synthetic resin.

FRIEDRICH KARL WICKEL.

